Shoe sole construction



Feb. 19, 1963 E. PIRHONEN 3,077,886

SHOE SOLE CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 16, 1961 FIG. 5 A 6 JNVENToR. E//VOP/RHO/VE/V AT TORNEYS Unitje States My invention relates primarily to anew and improved construction for shoes of all types; in particular, myinvention is concerned with novel means for affording support to a shoewithout inhibiting the normal movements of each part of the foot.

It has been found that the lateral midfoot portion of the foot tends tobecome misaligned longitudinally due to fatigue, imbalance, proration ofthe foot during walking and other causes. The result often is a loweringof the midfoot arch and flattening of the lower surface of the foot.Such a condition produces fatigue in the ligaments and tendons of thefoot and leg, ultimately resulting in the functional failure of theelements themselves or serious injury thereto. It is also apparent thatsuch consequences ruin the shape of the shoe prematurely, thereby addingto the expense of buying shoes.

Accordingly it is an object of my invention lto provide an improvedshoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved shoeconstruction adapted to prevent premature failure or stretching of ashoe.

A further object of my invention is to provide novel means for impartingextra strength to a shoe in those areas requiring added support withoutsacrificing the iiexibility necessary and desirable in other areas ofthe shoe.

Another object of my invention is to provide a shoe having an insolecharacterized by gradations of stiffness and adapted to provide supportwhere support is needed and flexibility where flexibility is needed.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a novel soleconstruction for a shoe characterized by simplicity in design, ease ofmanufacture and economical in cost, wherein the insole, the upper bodymember and outsole are joined in a new and novel manner.

A further object of my invention is to provide in a shoe, novel meansfor distributing the weight in the shoe in accordance with correctorthopedic techniques without adding greatly to the cost of the shoe andwithout affecting other properties of the shoe.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedshoe having superior structural characteristics and having means forproviding ventilation therein without appreciable loss `of strength.

I shall not here attempt to set forth and indicate all of the variousobjects and advantages incident to my invention, but other objects andadvantages will be referred to in or else Will become apparent from thatwhich follows.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detaileddescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,showing by way of example a preferred embodiment oi' the inventive ideawherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawings forming part of this application:

FIGURE l is a longitudinal elevational view, partially in section,through a shoe illustrating an embodiment of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view taken substantially on the line 2 2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the support insole removedfrom the shoe;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;and

"ice

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section view taken on the line 6 6 of FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail my invention, designated in itsentirety by the reference character A, consists of a shoe body 10characterized by a foot engaging upper body member 12, an insole 14, aconventional outsolel and heel 13. v

It can be appreciated that thus far a somewhat conventional shoe hasbeen described; that is to say, a shoe having an outsole and heel, aninsole, and an upper. Conventional shoe construction, as explained, iseasily worn out and loses its support strength quickly because the soles14 and 16 are more or less uniform in transverse cross section and thushave the same degree of flexibility from one end to the other. Rapiddeterioration occurs because of the nature of the loads imposed on theshoe during walking or running. It is well known that the weight of aperson is progressively transmitted from the heel to the toe in walking,causing the weight to roll medially inward from the outer longitudinalarch to the region of the great toe. This weight shift imparts downwardpressures to the region of the arch where it must be resisted by theshoe( In meeting this problem, I have provided a new and different typeof support member or insole 14 extending from the toe longitudinally tothe heel, as shown by the dotted ilines in FIGURE 1.

Support insole 14 is preferably made of a sheet of uniform thicknessplastic material, either of the thermoplastic or thermosetting type; itmay also be fabricated of a combination material such as vinyl-to-metallaminates or it may be fashioned of metal alone. The importantconsideration is that t-he support insole 14 exhibits different degreesof stiffness (or conversely, flexibility) from the toe end 22 thereof tothe heel end 24 thereof. My invention contemplates a gradation ofdecreased ileidbility in the following manner: From the toe end 22 to apoint slightly therebeyond (as illustrated by line B-B in FIG- URES 2and 3), sole 14 is totally iniiexible, from this point to point C-C sole14 is very exible, from point C-C to point D-D sole 14 is less exiblethan from point B-B to point C-C, and from point D-D to point E-E thesole 14 approximates the hardness or inflexibility of the toe section.

As shown in FIGURE 5, a built up arch side wall 2S, which is inexible,is provided, for supporting the inner arch of the wearer, as part of thesupport sole 14. The support sole 14 may be perforated, as at 26, toprovide ventilation. Securing of the support sole 14 within the bottomof the shoe may be accomplished by means of egs or projections 28,formed as part of sole 14 and secured in holes formed in the `outer sole16.

The ylower inner edge 13 of the upper shoe body l12 is formed with aseries of holes through which the pegs 28 extend, the pegs beinganchored in the outsole 16. Thus, with such construction the upper shoe12, the support sole 14 and the outsole 16 are all held together with asingle gluing and pressing operation with the pegs extending through theholes of the upper, the insole 14 and outersole 16.

In the construction set forth in the drawings, I have shown my inventionas embodied permanently in a shoe; but it is, of course, entirelypossible to make my new support sole 14 separate and distinct from theshoe. In this form my sole can be inserted into a shoe on top of aconventional insole and worn and' subsequently removed. By providing agraduated degree of flexibility in my sole according to the flow ofweight from heel to toe, a less fatiguing and longer wearing shoe and/orsole is attained and improved foot comfort is possible.

lt is also possible to vary the degree of exibility according toindividual needs. For example, the toe portion between point 22 andpoint B--B may be made slightly flexible rather than totally inexible,varying degrces of stiiness may be imparted to the other areas of innersupport sole 14 in line with `the particular demands of the user. Aconventional insole may be positioned between the support sole 14 andthe outer sole 16.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details setforth since these may be modified within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a shoe, an outer sole, an upper body, a one-piece insole extendingfrom the toe to the heel of said shoe, said insole being generallyuniform in thickness and having a foot supporting upper surface parallelto the other sole of said shoe, the outer sole of said shoe having aplurality of peg receiving apertures arranged in a closely spaced mannerthroughout the length and width thereof, a plurality of pegs formedintegral with said insole and extending therefrom in lockingcommunication with the apertures in said outer sole, said insole beinggraduated in its degree of flexibility fiom its toe end to its heel endwhereby to lessen the fatigue of the wearer and increase the life ofsaid shoe without the addition of ller material between said insole andsaid outer sole, said insole being made of a sheet of uniform thicknessplastic material formed so as to exhibit total inflexibility in the areaadjacent the heel and toe of said shoe, said insole exhibitingrelatively total exibility in the area immediately adjacent the saidarea of total inexibility and extending therefrom toward the heel to apositionsin substantially lateral register with area supporting the ballof the foot, said insole exhibiting flexibility of a degree offlexibility intermediate said total inilexibility and said totaliiexibility in the area adjacent said area or" intlexibility andextending therefrom towards the heel of said shoe, said insoleexhibiting relatively total inflexibility in the area of said shoesupporting the heel of the foot, said last mentioned area of totalinfiexibility being in communication with said area of intermediateflexibility.

2. The shoe construction described in claim l wherein an inexible archside wall is formed integral with said insole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D,139,580 Diamant Nov. 28, 1944 1,775,957 Hassink Sept. 16, 1930 1,934,591Churchill Nov. 7, 1933 1,976,389 Everston Oct. 9, 1934 2,427,986 WhitmanSept. 23, 1947 2,441,891 Lucey May 18, 1948 2,710,462 Swadburgh June 14,1955 2,917,844 Scholl Dec. 22, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 835,859 Germany Apr.7, 1952

1. IN A SHOE, AN OUTER SOLE, AN UPPER BODY, A ONE-PIECE INSOLE EXTENDINGFROM THE TOE TO THE HEEL OF SAID SHOE, SAID INSOLE BEING GENERALLYUNIFORM IN THICKNESS AND HAVING A FOOT SUPPORTING UPPER SURFACE PARALLELTO THE OTHER SOLE OF SAID SHOE, THE OUTER SOLE OF SAID SHOE HAVING APLURALITY OF PEG RECEIVING APERTURES ARRANGED IN A CLOSELY SPACED MANNERTHROUGHOUT THE LENGTH AND WIDTH THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF PEGS FORMEDINTEGRAL WITH SAID INSOLE AND EXTENDING THEREFROM IN LOCKINGCOMMUNICATION WITH THE APERTURES IN SAID OUTER SOLE, SAID INSOLE BEINGGRADUATED IN ITS DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY FROM ITS TOE END TO ITS HEEL ENDWHEREBY TO LESSEN THE FATIGUE OF THE WEARER AND INCREASE THE LIFE OFSAID SHOE WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF FILLER MATERIAL BETWEEN SAID INSOLEAND SAID OUTER SOLE, SAID INSOLE BEING MADE OF A SHEET OF UNIFORMTHICKNESS PLASTIC MATERIAL FORMED SO AS TO EXHIBIT TOTAL INFLEXIBILITYIN THE AREA ADJACENT THE HEEL AND TOE OF SAID SHOE, SAID INSOLEEXHIBITING RELATIVELY TOTAL FLEXIBILITY IN THE AREA IMMEDIATELY ADJACENTTHE SAID AREA OF TOTAL INFLEXIBILITY AND EXTENDING THEREFROM TOWARD THEHEEL TO A POSITION IN SUBSTANTIALLY LATERAL REGISTER WITH AREASUPPORTING THE BALL OF THE FOOT, SAID INSOLE EXHIBITING FLEXIBILITY OF ADEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY INTERMEDIATE SAID TOTAL INFLEXIBILITY AND SAIDTOTAL FLEXIBILITY IN THE AREA ADJACENT SAID AREA OF INFLEXIBILITY ANDEXTENDING THEREFROM TOWARDS THE HEEL OF SAID SHOE, SAID INSOLEEXHIBITING RELATIVELY TOTAL INFLEXIBILITY IN THE AREA OF SAID SHOESUPPORTING THE HEEL OF THE FOOT, SAID LAST MENTIONED AREA OF TOTALINFLEXIBILITY BEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID AREA OF INTERMEDIATEFLEXIBILITY.